In Odense, Denmark's third-largest city, the city's district energy plant operators have partnered to conduct a feasibility study to assess the possibilities of capturing and recycling carbon dioxide (CO2) from their heating plant operations. Combined with hydrogen, the captured carbon can be used for industry for products such as plastics or as sustainable electro-fuels (eFuels) for shipping and aviation.
Located on Funen (Fyn), Denmark’s largest island, Odense is Denmark’s third-largest city. Municipality-owned energy utility Fjenvarme Fyn, the third-largest district heating provider in the country, and Finland-headed energy utility major Fortum Oyj operate heat plants that supply district heating to Odense and Nyborg respectively.
Fjenvarme Fyn currently uses straw, municipal solid waste (MSW), and coal at its Havnegade combined heat and power (CHP) complex (624 MWth/433 MWe). The coal will soon be replaced by biomass in the 150 MWth new Bio Bolk 2 unit which is under construction and biogas/fossil gas.
Fortum Recycling & Waste’s CHP plant (40 MWth/16 MWe) in Nyborg treats hazardous waste from many industrial companies in the surrounding area.
Circular economy driver
In a circular economy, as much of the waste streams as possible need to be recycled, recovered, or reused. On their journey towards carbon neutrality, various industry sectors can utilize captured CO₂ combined with hydrogen to form essential building blocks for a wide range of products.
With this in mind, Fjernvarme Fyn, Fortum, and Fortum Group subsidiary Uniper, a hydrogen player active worldwide on the entire hydrogen value chain, have partnered to conduct a feasibility study to assess the possibilities of CO2 from their respective heating plant operations.
The feasibility study will aim to discover whether large-scale capture of CO2 from the Odense and Nyborg plants is feasible. The feasibility study is expected to be completed before the end of 2022 and will clarify whether it is realistic to proceed on a large scale.
At that time, a decision can be made whether to proceed with the process. The target is to capture a total of 480 000 tonnes of CO2 by 2030 – 340 000 tonnes from Fjenvarme Fyn and 140 000 tonnes from Fortum Nyborg. However, the long-term potential is up to 900 000 tonnes.
